WORLD

Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis washed prisoners’ feet at a Rome jail on Thursday, including two Muslims, an Orthodox Christian and a Buddhist, once again choosing to celebrate Holy Thursday among Italy’s incarcerated. “Everyone always has the opportunity to change life and one cannot judge,” said Francis to …

Richfield, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that US forces would pull out of Syria “very soon” and lamented what he said was Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in Middle East wars. In a populist address to industrial workers in Ohio, Trump said US forces …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN’s outgoing political chief expressed concern Thursday in a parting message that the United Nations was losing support from a growing number of countries. Jeffrey Feltman, an American who served as under-secretary-general for political affairs since 2012, said it was “quite worrying” …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the actresses who have claimed sexual abuse by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein “prostitutes” and poured scorn on journalists who have accused a Russian lawmaker of sexual harassment. Peskov, speaking to students in Moscow, said that the …

Washington, United States | AFP | Russia’s expulsion of 60 US diplomats and shuttering of one of its consulates marks a “further deterioration” in relations between Washington and Moscow, the White House said Thursday. The US had ordered a similar number of diplomats from Russia to leave and the shuttering …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States is on track to meet the targets of the Paris climate agreement despite President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw from the accord, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. Guterres said emissions-cutting plans put in motion by American businesses, regional governments …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the New Britain island of Papua New Guinea on Friday, US seismologists said, but a tsunami threat from the tremor was over. The quake struck at 5:25 pm local time (2125 GMT) about 162 kilometres from the New Britain town …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | There had never been much doubt that in London’s testosterone-fuelled financial sector female workers’ salaries lagged far behind those of their mostly male colleagues. Now this has been confirmed in black and white after the British government forced UK-based banks to publish their own so-called …

Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai returned to Pakistan Thursday, saying tearfully that it was “a dream” to come home for the first time since she was airlifted to Britain after being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman more than five years ago. The 20-year-old …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A brewery in Windsor, the British town where Prince Harry will marry American Meghan Markle in May, believes it has concocted its own perfect pairing with a “royal beer” celebrating the occasion. The regal-themed brew, a pale ale named “Harry & Meghan’s Windsor Knot”, appropriately …